July 13, 2015

What a shocking surprise! Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States Of America, read the Quran.

For those who don’t know, the Quran is the holy book of the Muslims.

One wonders what TJ learned and took away from the Quran.

No doubt he was a brilliant man. He drafted the declaration of independence in seventeen days. Perhaps separation of church and state was one idea he got from reading the Quran. On July 4, the wording of the Declaration of Independence composed by Jefferson was finalized and signed by members of Congress.

Now, if the present members of Congress with their low level of intelligence were to follow TJ’s example and get a copy of the Quran and read it, they might learn a few things about Islam and Muslims. However, one has little hope that members of the present Congress can improve their minds.

Anyway, if Thomas Jefferson can read the Quran and learn from it, then all these nincompoops masquerading as intellectuals and law-makers can read it as well.

July 8, 2015

American soil – if it could speak – would tell tales of genocide and slavery.

The roots of genocide and slavery are prejudice, racism, hate, discrimination, exploitation, oppression, and ultimately apartheid. These are practices of people suffering from an inferiority complex.

This very white country claims to be a moral Christian nation. What branch of Christianity these murderers and slave owners subscribe to is a mystery? Their Christian practices are certainly different from the Bible or what Jesus preached.

Perhaps the pilgrims, the European killers and the slave owners – now known as white supremacists – wrote their own bible which makes their current practices moral and legal.

Prejudice, racism, hate, discrimination, exploitation, oppression, and apartheid are so ingrained in the white American psyche that it seems an impossible task to ever make equality a reality in these states.

Why aren’t white politicians and people at all levels of government out in the streets screaming for changes in this country? Why aren’t white church leaders doing the same? Why does law enforcement have black and white laws? Why do they entrap innocent Muslim men?

The answer is simple. Congress and the Courts enjoy the status quo. In order to maintain the status quo prejudice, racism, hate, discrimination, exploitation, oppression, and apartheid must remain in place.

America is a white country built on genocide and slavery, and it will be a long time before white genociders and slave owners accept and tolerate black brown, yellow, red ….

July 6, 2015

For hundreds of years the white people of the world oppressed and exploited Asia, Africa and South America. Western Europe and the United States built empires on the backs and blood of Asians and Africans.

They all got a new religion to civilize them. Queen Victoria owned Kenya, and she gave Mt. Kilimanjaro to the Germans who owned Tanganyika because they did not own a mountain.

Later, Europe and America did not have oil, so they annexed the Middle East.

Well, the world is changing. The Africans are moving north to every country in Europe. They have very little left in their countries. They are going where the riches are. Africans speak every European language and know their customs. They want jobs, education, health care and equality.

The Central and South Americans are moving north to the big bad US of A against all odds especially the language barrier. More power to them. North is where the goods are!

And then we have the kidnapped Africans in the US, better known as slaves. Unfortunately, they can’t move north or south. This is their homeland, just as it is the homeland of their former owners – slave owners that is.

The white imperialists / colonialists who oppressed and exploited three continents for hundreds of years are now facing a dilemma. The black, brown, pink, green, red, yellow people of the southern world want their piece of the pie. It is pay back time.

The white people are fighting to the death. They are good at stealing but not at sharing.

Well, at least imperialism / colonialism are over. We still have oppression, exploitation and apartheid left in the white world and in America we can add the confederate flag.

July 3, 2015

For Muslims, Ramadan is the holiest month on their (lunar) calendar. It is a time when they give up “worldly” pleasures and devote their lives to God.

Our friends and colleagues are curious about what we do for thirty (30) days. There is no mystery. Here are some of our practices during the Ramadan:

Fasting (Saum): Fasting begins one hour and half before Sunrise and ends at sunset. We follow the lunar calendar and this year the times are approx. from 4:00 A.M. to 8:30 P.M. Yes, it’s a long day (16 & 1/2 hours) without food or water. However, it is not food, but Faith in God that gives strength to the Fasting person.

Prayer (Salaat): We pray five times per day –before sunrise, midday, late afternoon, sunset, and evening. Men go to mosque, women pray at home, or mosque.

Quran: Read the Quran, learn the Quran, use it as guidance in our daily lives.

Charity (Zakaat): We give at least 2 & 1/2% of our income/wealth to the poor. From a socio-economic point of view, giving Zakaat helps maintain a financial balance in society. Those who are able (and willing) give to the less fortunate, the orphans and the widows. However, Zakaat is not only giving money. Any act of kindness, e.g. teaching a child to read, helping someone cross the street, giving someone a meal, helping a sick person, a smile, a kind word, are all considered acts of charity.

Muslims pray for their own souls, but they Fast for God. One can fake prayers (to show off) but one can not fake Fasting. In addition, in Ramadan one prays to God for Mercy, Forgiveness and to be Spared the Fire of Hell. One also prays for their parents, children and siblings.

It is written that in the Month of Ramadan, God would not deny a Fasting person that which he asks for.

The Holy Month of Ramadan is the best of times for practicing Muslims. Yes, there is work, and chores, and the days are long, but it is a time when we talk to God, ask him for stuff, thank him for stuff, and we are at peace with ourselves.

God wants us to love him best, even more than ourselves; and our Prophet even better than ourselves. And in Ramadan we certainly do love them more.

July 1, 2015

May the peace and blessings of God be with everyone observing Ramadan.

In the western world, the concept of jihad equals all things evil. In the Islamic world practicing jihad is building God-faring character.

Jihad is an integral part of Islam, but it is the opposite of the evil the western propaganda machine paints it to be. Here are several definitions of the concept of jihad:

1: Every human being fights the conflicts within his heart and soul. Whatever one thinks of as right or wrong, good or evil presents a choice within one’s self. Fighting that wrong or that evil and choosing what is right or what is good is jihad.

2: In literature, as in life, as a writer or a teacher knows, the characters face conflict after conflict and must make choices. That is jihad.

4: Defending one’s religion or one’s belief in Almighty God is Jihad. However, Muslim killing Muslim is not Jihad, and one must separate fanaticism and political war from jihad and religion.

According to Western propaganda we now have jihadists. In Islam there are no jihadists. The word “jihadist” was created by western propaganda and Islamophobia. People killing each other for political gain are not Muslims.

The crusaders were slaughtering Jews, Christians and Muslims in the name of Jesus. Were they fanatics or jihadists? In the US the white supremacists are defending their God given rights to own and make America white. Are they fanatics or jihadists?

Muslims, just like good Christians, fight the Seven Deadly Sins daily. That is inner jihad.

In this Holy Month of Ramadan, inner jihad includes the Ten Commandments of Moses and the Seven Deadly sins of St. Thomas, all of which are positive models to build the character of a good and pious Muslim!

June 29, 2015

Are babies born racist? Are they taught prejudice at their parents’ knees?

Children live what they learn. Therefore, it is quite possible that young Dylan had a decent education on hate and prejudice at home as he was growing up.

It is quite possible to teach your children to love and respect their classmates, neighbours, and members of the community, and still have them turn out as white supremacist. If so, you can console yourself with the thought that you made the child, not his mind.

Dylan’s parents are probably confused and devastated by his beliefs and crimes. But one wonders about the kinds of conversation they had at home as a family when he was growing up.

The history of South Carolina with reference to slavery and their fight to maintain the apartheid status quo is dark, dismal and inhuman. How can people pretend to be Christians and live the beliefs of oppression and exploitation? How can they worship the confederacy flag, subscribe to HH and call themselves Christians?

Back to Dylan! It is one theory that children learn racism and prejudice – to hate other people because they are different – at home. Where, when and how this young man learned to be a white supremacist is sad and a defeatist way to look at the world around him.

For all the young white supremacist Dylans out there, there are three points worth considering. One – Dylan’s days are over. Two – are white supremacists Christians? Three – how many Dylans are roaming the streets waiting to strike? That’s the scary part.

Racism, hate, prejudice, bigotry, oppression, exploitation are not about to go away. Perhaps it never will. Certainly not while people in the south still worship their confederate flag. However, they should not call themselves Christians because the Bible teaches love, tolerance, and respect, and not the ideology they practice.

And if they want the next generations to practice less hate and more love then parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles must begin the conversations at home. Home is where children learn to love, tolerate and respect their class mates, neighbours and the people with whom they share the world.